Small-scale and Artisanal miners gold miners will still receive their gold payment from the country’s sole gold buyer and exporter in 100 percent forex.
Contrary to the reports disseminated earlier that all exporters will now be subjected to foreign currency retention threshold of 70 percent following the success of the auction-based system in improving foreign currency availability for producers.
Small-scale and artisanal miners will be paid in foreign currency 100 percent, technically gold producers are not exporters as this is done by Fidelity.
Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) General Manager Mr. Fradreck Kunaka has confirmed that no new arrangements are in place in terms of what gold miners get from the sole gold buyer and exporter.
“Nothing has changed as yet the same arrangements are still in place,” Kunaka said. “However, gold companies will still cede some of their foreign currency earnings to the state at a retention threshold of 70/30”
As from May 2020, Small scale gold miners have been paid 100 percent of their deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refineries in foreign currency as the government seeks to curb gold leakages into the parallel market.
Previously, the state was offering small scale and artisanal miners up to 55 percent of their earnings in foreign currency with the remaining 45 percent paid in local currency at a fixed exchange rate.
This led to most artisanal miners opting to sell their gold produce on the black market where they would get their earnings wholly in foreign currency.
Currently, small-scale miners have been lamenting about late payments from Fidelity raising fears of the yellow metal’s return to the always liquid parallel market.